Hole In My Heart
by sniperscope
Summary: Based off of "Seeing Red" and told from Catherine's POV in order to get into her head. No Alex in this story.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: Here's the standard disclaimer you are all used to seeing: I do not own the characters of Beauty and the Beast. No copyright infringement is intended.**_

This story is based off the episode "Seeing Red" and is my own spin on it. I've taken Alex out of the picture because I'm not a fan. Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

I'm pretty sure no one ever said that getting shot was a piece of cake, and if they did I'd beg to differ.

I've spent the past two weeks lying in this hospital bed being poked and questioned to no end about how I feel and if it hurts. What do they think? A bullet burned its way into my chest, through my lung and out my back. Yeah. It fucking hurts.

Then there are the flashbacks that plague my mind almost every night. My mind doesn't try to change the outcome; it just forces me to relive it. It all fades to black soon after the bullet hit me because I don't know what happened after that, well, aside from what Evan told me, and based on what he said he had to do to me, I'm glad that's where my nightmare cuts out.

I sucked in a ragged breath as I stared out the window, wishing that I was out there instead of in here. Sitting around watching TV all day gets old real quick and I've had my fill.

"What's up, partner?" Tess asks as she strides into the room, stealing my attention from my view of the city.

"Hey."

She stops at the side of my bed, shoulders slumping. "Okay, what's wrong?"

I close my eyes for only a few seconds as I try to get into a more comfortable position. "I want to get out of here. I want my bed, I want a shower and I want my comfy couch. I want to get better in my own place." I couldn't hide the pain I was in, my grimace giving me away.

Tess tilted her head, "Cat. Two weeks ago you almost…died." I saw the tears in her eyes as she said it, something I've never seen from her before.

"Tess." I reached out and touched her hand.

She moved it away and started to pace. "I should have been there for you. You're my partner. While it might not be part of my written job description, it's my job to keep you safe."

I shook my head, "No. You can't blame yourself. Neither one of us could have known what was going to happen that night."

"But maybe if I had kept tabs on that crazy bitch I could have stopped her and…"

"Stop," I said softly. "It happened. Neither one of us is to blame and we'll get through it." I shifted a little, wincing at the throbbing pain that seemed to consume my right side. "What you can do is get me the hell out of here."

She smiled at me, wiping a stray tear from her eye. "You're crazy, you know that?"

"Stir crazy. I can't lie here another minute."

Sighing heavily, she walked over to the side of my bed, "Let me talk to your doctor and see what I can do. NO promises, got it?"

"Got it. Thank you."

Reaching over, she rubbed my arm. "No problem, partner."

As she left the room I closed my eyes for a few minutes. They were still giving me pain meds that sucked the energy right out of me. I need them but I don't want them, if that makes any sense.

"Catherine?" a gravelly voice calls out to me.

My eyes immediately opened and I rolled my head towards the sound. "Vincent?"

He was standing there a good distance away from my bed. "Hi."

"Where've you been?" Part of me was glad to see him but the other part was angry. In the whole two weeks I'd been here he hadn't come to see me even once.

He took a few steps forward. "I can only stay a minute, I saw Tess go down the hallway."

"You didn't answer my question."

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "I couldn't face you."

I watched him as he got closer, his eyes breaking contact with mine.

"I couldn't help you that night. I…I wanted to but I couldn't control myself and get it together. Evan showed up and I had no choice but to….leave you."

"Vincent, I know…"

"You were dying, Catherine. I know the damage made by the path of that bullet and there was nothing I could do."

Great. Now I had both Tess AND Vincent feeling guilty about what happened.

"Vincent, did Evan see you?"

His eyes latched onto mine, "Yes."

Shit.

He walked to the doorway and looked to see if anyone was coming before coming back into the room. "Look, I better get going before someone sees me here. I just wanted to check on you to make sure you were okay."

"Okay," I said quietly.

"I'll try to come by again soon." A small smile spread across his face.

I nodded and forced myself to return one of my own. Evan hadn't mentioned anything to me about seeing Vincent. I began to wonder if Vincent was wrong. Then I began to hope he was.


	2. Chapter 2

Another four days passed before they agreed to let me out of this hell hole of a hospital. Both my respiratory therapist and physical therapist had to be convinced that I was strong enough to go home. It took everything in me to refrain from beating Dr. Baker with that peak flow meter that he kept having me blow into. I know he's only doing his job but it's frustrating when something as simple as breathing is anything but simple.

Then there's Dr. McKenzie; poking and pulling, telling me I'm not allowed to lift anything heavier than a pencil and that I'm scheduled for physical therapy three times a week.

Tess helped me into the wheelchair as my surgeon, Dr. Leland, walked into the room.

"You're not escaping just yet," he said as he intentionally stood in my way, handing me a sheet of paper. "This is a list of the rules that I'm sure you won't follow."

"If it means not having to come back here then I'll follow them," I said wisely. He was right, though, I probably wouldn't follow the rules. I needed to get better and get back to work.

"The two most important rules are not to get your stitches wet – we'll re-check your wounds in a few days to see if they're now ready to come out – and if you develop a fever, you get back here immediately."

"Got it." I was anxious to get out and honestly didn't care what he was saying.

"Well then, you are free to go." He extended his hand and smiled.

Shaking it, I looked up at him, my irritation for his presence fading as it dawned on me that I really had no right to be mad at someone who ultimately saved my life. I mean, Evan played a part in it and all but this man ensured that I would live to see another day.

"Thank you, Doctor."

He looked at Tess, "Make sure she behaves."

"I'll do my best," she said as she turned me towards the door and wheeled me out to her car parked out front.

One would think that I'd done enough sleeping over the past few weeks but I slept the entire way to my apartment. It wasn't a long time, but I guess the excitement of finally getting to go home wore me out.

It was Tess' gentle nudging that woke me so that she could begin the terribly long and drawn out journey upstairs. The next time I move, I definitely need to make sure they have an elevator.

We stopped several times for me to catch my breath, which panicked Tess by the time we got to my floor. I thought for sure she was going to call an ambulance at one point, but I think she was more afraid of me killing her for it than concern for my well-being.

We got into my apartment and I headed for the couch, easing myself down and wiping the sweat from my brow. "Well, that was fun." I struggled to gain control of my breathing and tried to remain calm as I fought to remember what Dr. Baker had taught me. This was when I realized I should have paid better attention.

"Here," Tess said as she handed me a glass of water and knelt down in front of me. Her eyes were wide and her usually tanned skin was paler than usual – I scared her.

I grabbed the glass and took a few sips before handing it back to her. "It'll pass," I assured her as I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, "always does."

"I knew this was a bad idea – you leaving when they wanted you to stay another week." I felt her hand on my knee, absently rubbing it. "Maybe I should call…"

"I'm fine." I started to gain control but it sure as hell kicked up the pain a few notches. They gave me something before I left the hospital so I couldn't take anything. I'd have to deal with it for now.

"This sucks," Tess mumbled under her breath. "What can I do?"

I opened my eyes. "Nothing right now. I'm okay. I'll just sit here for a few minutes and then maybe I can tackle a shower. I'm dying to wash my hair."

She stood up. "Oh no. No. No. No. You almost passed out on me going up those stairs so there's no way in hell you're going to take a shower."

"Tess. Come on."

"No freaking way, Chandler. What you need to do is get into bed and stay there. Rest."

I sucked in a breath slowly and then eased the air out of my lungs before sitting up. "Five minutes, that's all." I looked up at Tess and all but batted my eyes.

"I hate it when you do that because you always get your way. FIVE minutes, not a minute more. I'm outside that bathroom door the whole time. You go over five minutes and I will have no problem dragging your naked ass out of that shower, you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, now help me up."

Tess wasn't kidding about the five minute rule. I was only out of the shower a few seconds when the door opened and she nearly barged in. But I actually did need her help to get dressed and dry my hair.

After I was all cleaned up, I was in a better mood and didn't complain when she brought me into my room and tucked me into bed.

"You want something to eat? I can make you some soup or go out and get you a burger from Fatty's if you want."

"Nah. Not real hungry right now. I hate to say this but I might just take a nap." I didn't even try to stifle my yawn.

"Good idea." She rubbed my arm and smiled at me. "I'll be out in the living room. Yell if you need me, okay?"

"Thanks," I said as my eyelids began to close and I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

I felt like I was being tossed around on one of those godawful carnival rides where you're strapped into a seat and flung around until you want to puke.

Finally, the movement stops but I'm dizzy as hell and the whole world around me is spinning. I slowly open my eyes and soon realize that I'm in a car. My car? I…I don't quite remember.

I try to move but my whole body aches. I can feel something warm rolling down the side of my face and as I look down I can see droplets of bright red blood splashing onto my arm. Before I can do anything about it, I look up as I hear footsteps. Sabrina Meyer appears in front of my car and I'm confused as to why for a few seconds, but my mind quickly catches up and I begin to feel around for my purse so I can get to my gun.

"How was the wedding without a date?" she asks me.

"Sabrina."

"Not so good?" She looks at me with her angry, piercing blue eyes. "You ruined my happy ending. I'm gonna ruin yours."

I wrapped my hand around the cold steel of my gun and lifted it, firing without hesitation. My intention was to shoot her before she could shoot me, but it looks like we both had the same idea.

The loud boom of each of our guns filled the cold night air and I immediately felt my chest and back bloom with a raging fire.

"Catherine?" I hear a woman's voice call out to me.

Looking to my right, I see someone standing by the door of my car. "Mom?

Bolting upright, I struggled to breathe. Sweat poured down my face and pain demanded my full attention.

"Cat?" Tess called out to me as she burst into the room and sat down onto the bed next to me.

"Shit," I panted as I lay back on the stack of pillows, clenching my eyes shut.

I felt her hand grab mine. "Easy. It was just a dream. You're okay."

"Nightmare. Dreams are…supposed…to be…good."

Tess shook her head. "I'm sorry."

"Can't stop thinking about it," I said through gritted teeth.

She waited patiently, chewing on the inside of her cheek, as I began to settle down. "We can hang out and watch cartoons if you want? Maybe something goofy like that will lift your spirits and tame all those thoughts roaming around your head."

I chuckled and winced. "That actually sounds like fun."

"Good." She got to her feet and turned on the TV. "I'm gonna go grab us a pizza and I PROMISE to come back with Red Vines this time. Will you be okay for a few?"

I nodded.

"Be back in like fifteen."

"Okay," I said as I sighed and settled into my mountain of pillows.

I glanced over towards my window near the fire escape and saw Vincent sitting outside. "Vincent?"

He looked at me but didn't move so I motioned for him to come in. Sliding the window up, he crawled inside.

"Where's Tess?" he whispered.

"She just left to go get pizza. How long have you been out there?"

"Not long. I heard you were coming home today so I thought I'd stop by." He slowly walked over towards me. "I saw you having a nightmare." He dropped his head and looked down at his feet. "I didn't want to scare you so I didn't come in." Lifting his head, he returned his eyes to mine. "I also didn't want Tess to catch me in here either. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just can't seem to stop thinking about it." I paused for a beat. "And my mother."

He sat down onto the bed gently. "I'm sorry, Catherine."

I waved at him, trying to convince him it was nothing. "I'll be fine. Just going to take time to go away like everything else," I said as I motioned to my right side.

He reached over and moved a sweaty strand of hair off my forehead. "I wish there was something I could do to make this all go away."

My stomach jumped a little as I pushed all of the dirty thoughts from my mind. "Thanks."

"I better get out of here before Tess comes back and finds me. I'll admit that that girl scares me a little bit."

I laughed as hard as my aching side would allow. "Tess? Really? Please. She's a pussy cat once you get to know her." I looked at him and thought about how complicated our relationship, or whatever it was, was. "Maybe someday you can get the chance to."

"Yeah. Maybe."

* * *

**_Author's note_: Once in a while I have a song in mind that goes with a chapter and for this one it would have to be "A Nightmare To Remember" by Dream Theater.**

**Coming up, I will be taking things in a different direction than what we saw in "Bridesmaids Up"**

**Thank you to everyone that's left a review, favorited it and are set to follow along on this crazy ride!**


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning I woke to find Heather bringing breakfast into my room. She's definitely not known for being quiet – never has been.

"Hey, sis. Thought you might be hungry so I made you some eggs and toast." She set a tray down beside me.

"Thanks."

"I'll be home for another hour or so if you need anything. Tess said she was coming over around ten."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Come on. I don't need a babysitter every minute of the day. I'm a big girl."

She looked at me and tilted her head. "Cat, I've known you long enough to know that while you might be fully capable of taking care of yourself, you're not the best patient."

"Why do you say that?" I asked as I watched her pick up the pizza box from Tess and I's cartoon marathon last night.

"Remember the time you dislocated your shoulder tackling that suspect a few years ago and you were supposed to stay still for a few days. I do recall that you slipped on the ice and re-dislocated it again two days later."

"Slipping on the ice isn't intentional, Heather."

"No but being outside when you're not supposed to be is." She folded her arms across her chest in an effort to send a message.

"Whatever." Sitting up, I swung my legs over the side of the bed, keeping my right arm tight around my stomach. I swayed a little as I got to my feet, but shook the feeling away.

"Where are you going?"

"To the bathroom, if you don't mind. Besides, my therapist wants me to start walking around." I shuffled past her and slowly made my way to the bathroom.

"Ugh," Heather groaned. "Don't blame me if you fall down!" I could hear the clomping of her shoes as she stormed off into the kitchen.

Ahhh. Silence.

* * *

Tess got to my apartment a little later than expected and I could tell from the moment she arrived something was wrong. She was never good at hiding her emotions, no matter how tough she thinks she is.

She handed me a cup of coffee and then walked past me to sit on the couch.

"What's going on?" I asked hesitantly. My first thought was of Vincent and that perhaps Evan had mentioned something to her about that night I got shot.

"I kinda don't want to tell you this because you don't need the stress right now AND you shouldn't be involved in anything related to work, buuuuuuut."

I walked over and sat down on the coffee table. "What? What is it?"

"Sabrina's gone."

"Gone as in dead or gone as in…"

"Escaped custody." She said it and then continued to look at me, watching my reaction.

"What? Are you kidding me?" I stood up and paced as I felt my heartbeat start to quicken. "How the hell did this happen?"

"They were transporting her to the infirmary at the DOC and the guys doing the transport were taken out. They were at a red light and three cars surrounded them."

I ran my left hand over my forehead. "I don't believe this."

"Cat, you need to sit."

I waved her off. "We need to find her, Tess."

"I do but YOU don't."

"I can't just let this go." I could feel anger beginning to brew inside me.

Tess threw her hands up. "This is why I didn't want to tell you."

I leaned on the bar as I tried to keep the pain at bay.

Tess came up behind me and put her hands on my shoulders. "Cat. Please. Let me take care of this – put a detail outside just in case she tries anything. You know I will do everything in my power to find this bitch. No offense, but you're not ready to deal with this."

"Tess, I..." I sat down on one of the stools, biting my bottom lip. Before I knew it she had her long arms wrapped around me.

"I want to make this right for you. You've always been there for me and now I need to be there for you, so just let me." She broke the hug and cupped my face with her hands. "I promise I will find her."

Tears began to fill my eyes. "Please, Tess. Don't shut me out of this one. I want to…I NEED to help."

Tess sighed heavily. "I can't let you help but I can keep you in the loop. Fair enough?"

I nodded as the tears spilled down my cheeks. "I just don't want to feel useless any more. I…I felt that way the night my mother died."

"Whoa. Hey. Look at me."

My eyes locked onto hers as I snuffed away the tears.

"You are FAR from being useless right now. There is a huge difference between being hurt and being useless. And as for the day your mother was killed, there was NOTHING you could have done to stop that."

I dragged the sleeve of my sweatshirt across my eyes to sop up my tears. "I just…I just wish I could have done something."

Tess wiped away a stray tear from my cheek. "I don't doubt that. We all wish we could change the outcome of things but you can't. The only thing you can do is move on. Don't let this eat you up, Cat."

"I won't," I said as I chewed on my bottom lip. "This has just stirred up all kinds of shit for me, ya know." I laughed slightly from nerves, mostly.

"We'll get her. Okay? I'll put a detail outside 24/7."

"Okay."

She smiled at me with one of her trademark goofy smiles. "Come on. Let's play a friendly game of Monopoly. I'm the car." She patted my cheek before heading off to dig the game out of the mess of books on my bookshelf.

"Whatever makes you happy," I said as I went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. Wiping it with the hand towel, I took a moment to take a deep breath, blowing it out slowly. What Tess didn't know was that Sabrina had ties to Muirfield.

Before I left for the wedding, I stumbled upon some information about Sabrina's past. While her dating service was a new gig, Muirfield was her previous employer. I had intended to dig deeper after the wedding but obviously never got the chance.

I looked up into the mirror, my tired face staring back at me.

_"Looks like I'm on my own on this one,"_ I said to myself.


	4. Chapter 4

A few days passed and I found myself subjected to even more babysitting than I had anticipated. Tess all but moved into my apartment, sending Heather to stay with some of her friends until Sabrina was in custody. I did feel better about that. I know that I'm barely capable of protecting myself right now nevermind my sister. Would I admit that to anyone? Hell no.

It was nearly midnight and Tess had fallen asleep on the couch. Poor thing has been pulling long hours trying to track down even the smallest lead that would bring us to Sabrina's whereabouts. There were a few but nothing panned out.

Meanwhile, I had my own investigation to continue. I had only scratched the surface of Sabrina's involvement with Muirfield prior to the shooting. It didn't seem as if she had connected the dots on the fact that I was Vanessa Chandler's daughter the night she sent a bullet through my chest. Maybe she didn't know who my mother was? Or maybe she'll find out and really want me six feet under.

As I watched Tess snoring away on my couch, I sighed as what I was about to do was surely going to piss her off. But I really had no choice at the moment.

After a bit of a struggle, I managed to get my jacket on. Zipping it up wasn't going to happen so I hoped that it wasn't that cold outside.

I tucked my gun into the waistband of my jeans and quietly slipped out the door.

Those damn stairs nearly stole every ounce of my energy but I didn't have time to think about it. I needed to get to the precinct, grab my laptop and get back home before Tess woke up. Well, that was the plan, anyways.

I hailed a cab and got to the station. It was late so no one from my team was around to see me get the laptop and scoot on out like a ghost.

When I went back outside, the blast of cold air sent a chill down my spine and made my head spin for a few seconds. My brow and the back of my neck were covered in sweat, making me feel even colder.

Leaning against the wall, I took a moment to let it to pass before I walked towards the curb and attempted to get a cab to take me home. One cab after another passed by, out of service, so I decided I'd have to suck it up and walk home. Closing my eyes and swallowing hard, I began the long walk to my apartment.

I got about four blocks from my apartment when a wave of pain ignited in my shoulder, stealing my breath away. I put my hand on a nearby fence to steady myself but the world started to spin out of control. The next thing I knew, the sidewalk was zooming towards my face.

* * *

I came to, opening my eyes slowly as the world around me came back into focus. It was dark and I quickly realized I was in my bed. How did I get in my bed? Did I only dream that I went to the precinct?

It must have taken my body a second to catch up because a dull ache began to pulsate in my head and my shoulder began to burn as I became more alert.

I managed to sit up and get off the bed, heading out into the living room where I found Tess shutting the front door and chaining the lock.

"What the hell happened?" I mumbled as I slowly made my way to the couch. I felt like I'd partied too hard and was suffering from a nasty hangover.

She folded her arms across her chest and stood over me like a mother would when their kid did something they shouldn't have. "Pardon my French but what the fuck were you thinking?"

I guess that rules out my journey being a dream.

"Tess," I whined as I closed my eyes.

"You've got a mild concussion from smacking your head on the ground and I'm sure your shoulder's not feeling too great either. A doctor just left, said he didn't think you didn't anything to it but wouldn't know for sure unless you had an MRI. Cat, you…"

I opened my eyes again. "I'm fine, stop worrying."

"No! You flat out went behind my back and risked your life just to get that stupid laptop!"

"I asked you to get it for me, a couple of times I might add, and each time you said no. So I got it myself."

She chuckled sarcastically at me. "Yeah. Yeah, you did. Good job." Turning away from me she walked into the kitchen.

"Tess, I'm sorry."

"I don't know how the hell you even made it back here. One of your neighbors found you out in the hallway and knocked on the door. How'd you sneak past the detail out front?"

"Look, I'm sorry. I thought I could just take a cab, go get it and come back. I need SOMETHING to do instead of just sitting here on my ass."

"We've been over this!" Tess said as she slammed her hand on the counter. "Why can't you trust me to do this?"

I got up and walked over towards her. "Don't say that. This isn't about me not trusting you, this is about me HELPING you find this bitch." Part of me felt guilty after saying that because here I was keeping information from her. I trust Tess, I do, but I don't want her tangled up in my mess.

"Cat," she said as she put her hands on my shoulders. "DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT leave this apartment again unless I'm with you. Got it?"

I nodded.

"You've already scared the shit out of me twice now."

"Sorry," I whispered.

She shook her head and gave me a quick hug. "What am I gonna do with you, Chandler? Now go get your ass back to bed. It's late and you should be resting that melon of yours. I'll check on you in a few hours."

"Thank you," I said to her before heading back to my room, shutting the door quietly.

"Are you okay?" Vincent's voice quietly asked from my window but loud enough to startle me.

"Vincent."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He walked towards me, reaching out to touch the side of my face, wincing. "You cracked your head good right here. Looks like three stitches."

"Did you bring me home?"

"Yeah."

I eased myself down onto the bed. "Thanks."

"I had no choice but to knock on the door. I just told Tess I was your neighbor."

My heart skipped a beat knowing that he and Tess had spoken to one another – Tess completely unaware of who he really was.

"She didn't suspect anything." He looked at me, "Are you worried that I talked to her?"

"No. No, I'm sure it's fine. She wouldn't think twice about it."

He stroked the side of my face. "You shouldn't be out roaming the city alone in your condition. It's only been a month and you're not fully healed…"

"Yeah. Yeah. I already got the lecture from Tess."

"I heard."

I put my hand to my head, fatigue starting to grab hold of me.

"I'll let you get some sleep. Try not to get in any more trouble, okay?"

I smiled at him. "I'll try. Thank you, Vincent."

"You're welcome." He slipped out the window and disappeared into the night.

I climbed back into bed, pulled the covers up and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_**Author's note:**_ Thank you again for all the favorites, follows and feedback!


	5. Chapter 5

A loud, thunderous crash woke me from my sleep – one that came from the living room.

I heard a struggle, a couple of gunshots and more struggling.

Tess.

Wincing, I got up quickly, grabbing my gun from the nightstand and put my back flat against the wall as I prepared to open my door.

Another gunshot rang out and then everything was still and quiet.

I swallowed hard and grabbed the doorknob, turning it and then pulling it open quickly. I stood in the doorway and aimed my gun into the living room, taking in the sight of Tess standing over two bodies lying motionless on my floor.

"Tess? You okay?"

"Yeah," she said as she touched the cut that was now bleeding by her eye. "They're dead."

I walked further into the room, still keeping my gun trained on them just in case. My gun felt foreign to me in my left hand.

Tess knelt down and dug around in their pockets. "No I.D.'s"

"Hopefully their fingerprints will come up in the database."

"Yeah, if they had them," she said as she turned the man's hand towards me. "Looks like they've been burned off."

"_Muirfield,"_ I thought to myself.

"I'll call it in," Tess said as she got to her feet and pulled out her phone.

I went to the window and looked outside at the detail that was parked out in front of my building. The blood spatter on the window was enough to tell me what happened. "Shit!"

"What?"

"Reynolds and Anderson out front, they're dead."

She ran to the window and looked out, seeing the same thing that I saw. "Goddamn it." Wrapping her hand around my left arm, she all but dragged me into my bedroom. "Throw some clothes in a bag. We need to get the hell out of here."

"And go where?"

"Anywhere but here. C'mon!" She helped me throw a bunch of stuff into a duffle bag, including my laptop, and slung it over her shoulder.

She started to go towards the front door but I stopped her. "No. This way," I said as I pointed to the fire escape.

There was no argument. She opened the window and we both climbed out, making our way, albeit slowly, down to the street.

"Stay here for a sec," Tess said as she ran down to the edge of the building, peeking around the corner before running back to me. "There's an Escalade near my car so we can't go that way." Digging out her phone, she pressed it to her ear.

"Who you calling?"

"Evan. He lives the closest to you." She paused for a second until he picked up. "Evan, its Tess. I'm sorry to call you in the middle of the night but Cat and I are in trouble. We need you to pick us up. Can you meet us Butchie's Deli? Okay, thanks." She put the phone in her pocket. "C'mon," she said as she turned me in the opposite direction.

The two of us went down the darkness of the alley way and finally made our way out a couple of streets over, away from the eyes of whoever was in the Escalade.

By the time we got to the deli, I thought I might pass out, but I did my best to hide it.

Evan pulled up and we quickly climbed inside.

"Someone care to tell me what the hell is going on?" he asked as he pulled away from the curb and just started driving.

"Two goons just broke into Cat's apartment and thought they'd wrestle me. They lost, by the way. The two cops on detail duty are dead and there was a suspicious Escalade parked near my car, probably waiting for the two guys to come out with Cat."

I saw Evan look at me in the rearview mirror. "Cat, are you alright?"

I nodded but I really wasn't, physically or emotionally.

"Drop us off at the precinct. It's the safest place for her right now plus we have to form a task force now that there are two dead guys lying in her living room."

"Wait a minute, they're dead?"

Tess looked at him and pointed to the blood on the side of her face, "They tried to kill me and get me out of the way before getting to Cat."

"I'm surprised Sabrina didn't just come for me herself," I said, looking out the window and not realizing that I was nervously rubbing my hands together. It wasn't nerves from being scared it was nerves from the fact that it wouldn't be long before the NYPD had Muirfield on their radar.

"Like you, she's in no condition to be doing anything right now," Tess quipped. "Besides, she's obviously got a bunch of hired muscle to do her dirty work."

"Yeah." It was all I could say.

"Cat? You sure you're okay?" Tess asked.

"Fine, just tired."

I disappeared into my own world for the remainder of the drive. I needed to find Sabrina before they did in order to keep this from spreading to the point of no return.

* * *

Author's note: Sorry this update is a little short. Real life has gotten a little busy but I wanted to offer up at least something, so this is it. Thanks again to all of you who are following, favoriting and sending me feedback. It's MUCH appreciated!


	6. Chapter 6

They moved me to a safe house where Tess became my full-time babysitter. I didn't want Tess involved in any of this because this went deeper than she realized, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

She ran out to get some Chinese takeout. We were afraid to have anything delivered to the house in fear of tipping off Muirfield. Living in a constant state of paranoia was starting to wear on me.

My phone rang and when I flipped it over I saw that it was Vincent. I sighed and answered. "Hey."

"Where the hell are you? Are you okay? I went to your apartment and saw the crime scene tape up and…"

"It's okay. I'm okay."

"Where are you? I need to see you and see for myself that you're alright."

"I can't tell you. Look, I'm safe. I have to go. We can't be in contact on this phone, you know how this works." I hated being short with him but a bat had bashed Muirfield's bees nest.

"It's them isn't it?"

I was quiet for a moment because he knew the answer to that question. "I have to go. I'm sorry."

"Wait…"

I hung up the phone.

Tossing it onto the kitchen table, I sat down and ran my hands through my hair. I had three people I was trying to protect right now, Heather, Vincent and Tess, and it was becoming too much.

* * *

Tess and I ate dinner surrounded by an uncomfortable silence, or at least that's how it felt in my head.

I picked at my food because I wasn't very hungry. My mind was currently pre-occupied with far too many things, mostly how I was going to find Sabrina and end this once and for all.

"Earth to Cat," Tess said as she waved her chopsticks at me.

"Huh?" I asked, breaking away from my own world.

"Talk to me. What's going on?"

"I'm…"

"No. Don't you dare say you're fine because you're not." She put her chopsticks down and leaned back in her chair. "Look, I know this whole situation sucks and you and I are left out here to just sit around and smell the suburban air, but I feel like there's more going on with you."

I gulped and then put my own chopsticks down. "You're right. It sucks not being involved." I picked at my napkin, my brain desperately searching for a way to change the subject.

"Come on, Chandler. I've been your partner long enough to know when something's up with you. What's going on?"

Silence.

Tess shook her head. "Is it your injury?"

"No."

"Are you spooked about what happened in your apartment?"

"Spooked?" I asked, somewhat offended. "I'm not afraid of some matchmaking psycho, even if she does what to kill me."

Tess shot me a weird look. "I don't believe you," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Pushing my chair back, I stood up. "I don't want to talk about it."

Without another word, I went into the living room and turned on the TV.

Within seconds, Tess entered the room, turning the TV off. "We're hashing all of this out right now."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Bullshit. You can't ignore the fact that some bitch tried to…to kill you." She turned away when her voice cracked. "Fuck," she mumbled under her breath as she turned back to me. "Hell, you DID die, Cat. They told me they lost you for almost a minute. So don't tell me that shit doesn't weigh on you."

I sighed and closed my eyes as I leaned my head back on the cushions of the couch. "Alright. Fine," I said before opening my eyes and prepared for battle. "It does affect me, okay. This…this whole situation is so far out of my control and there's not a thing I can do about it."

Tess took a seat on the coffee table and listened.

"When my mother was shot right in front of me, I often wondered how much she suffered – how much it hurt to have a bullet go through you. The night I got shot I immediately thought of my mother and I got my answer." I turned and looked out the window as the sun started to set. "Now, because of this, I'm trying to find my normal. For the past month I've relied on people to help me, Tess, and I'm not used to that. Help me eat, help me get dressed, help me take a shower, help me get up, help me sit down, help me do just about everything and it pisses me off."

Tess' head tilted. "But you're hurt."

"I just want to get back to normal, or as normal as I can get. I want to get back out on the street with you, working cases and catching bad guys. I don't want to be holed up here in hiding, putting you in danger."

"I'm your partner. There's no way I'd leave you to take this on all yourself."

I leaned forward and put my head in my hands as the dam of tears finally broke and I started sobbing like a child.

I felt Tess' arms around me and I continued to sob for a few minutes, neither of us saying anything. Nothing had to be said, really.

"All I ask is that you trust me to help you," Tess whispered to me, finally breaking the silence.

I moved away, swiping at the tears. "Sorry," I said as I ran my sleeve across my eyes.

"Don't be. This is a lot to deal with on your own, and you don't have to."

I took a few breaths to calm myself down, mentally preparing myself for what I was about to say. "I'm going to make a deal with you."

Tess rolled her eyes. "Caaaaaaat."

"I'm serious."

"Okay."

"You have to promise me that you'll include me on this case. That includes anything that relates to going to get Sabrina."

She shook her head. "No. No. I can't give you that."

"Tess. You want me to trust you then you need to include me one hundred percent."

She thought about it for a minute and then her shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine."

"What I'm about to tell you HAS TO stay between us. You have to promise me you won't repeat any of this to anyone."

Tess raised her right hand. "I swear."

"At first I thought Sabrina was just some business woman, but when I dug a little deeper I realized she has ties to a company named Muirfield. I didn't find this out until the night before she shot me." I stood up and started to pace. "At first I thought she was just pissed about us closing in on her but now I think she might have figured out who I am."

Tess' brow creased. "Wait. What? Who you are?"

"My mother worked for Muirfield and was killed because of an experiment gone wrong. She knew too much so they killed her."

"Shit."

"I went to the precinct that night to get my laptop so I could see if I could find out what her role was at Muirfield and if there was any hint of a connection to my mother."

"What kind of experiment are we talking about?"

I nervously chewed on my thumbnail. "Super soldiers. They were given injections to make them super human but it didn't work."

"Soooooo, you mean there are people walking around that are like mutants or something? Like something out of the X-Men movies?"

"I…I only know of one," I said hesitantly.

"And where is this person?"

My stomach conveniently started to tie itself in a knot. "In hiding."

"Where exactly?"

I shook my head. "I can't say." Wringing my hands, I sat back down. "He saved my life the night my mother was killed. I would be dead right now if it wasn't for him."

"HIM, huh. So, what's he got? Super powers?"

I laughed slightly. "Sort of. When he's angry he has this super human strength."

"Like the Incredible Hulk?"

"Without the ripping of the clothes, yes. It's just that his…his DNA is changing because of the drugs they gave him. No one is sure what will happen to him."

It was as if a light turned on in Tess' head. "Wait a minute! The disappearing acts, the cryptic explanations…is this the secret guy?"

Busted.

"Yes," I said sheepishly.

"Well I'll be damned, Chandler."

"You are the only one that knows about this, Tess, and it HAS TO stay that way. Promise me that you will never ever say anything no matter what."

"I promise."

"I've put you in danger telling you this."

"You didn't put me anywhere," she said as she reached out and rubbed my arm.

"And Heather. She doesn't know about any of this and I want it to stay that way. I don't want her involved in any of this."

"I get it now. Why you're so on edge."

"We need to find Sabrina, Tess. We need to find her before the NYPD looks too far into her background and somehow ties her Muirfield connection to my mother."

She reached over and patted my hand. "Don't worry, Cat. We'll find an end to this."

* * *

Author's note: Sorry for the lag time in between updates. RL is kinda crazy for me at the moment.


	7. Chapter 7

A bright light blinded me as I woke up. At first I assumed that it was the sun coming in through my bedroom window, but I quickly realized that I was wrong.

So. Very. Wrong.

Squinting, I went to move my hand to shield my eyes but found that they were handcuffed behind my back and attached to a wooden chair I was sitting in.

The light was not only bright but it was incredibly hot. I felt beads of sweat forming on my forehead, pooling with others and then cascading down my face.

My head throbbed, not from trauma but from a headache. _Was I given something? How did I get here? Where is here? _

I hung my head to avoid the light and when I did it turned off. It took a few moments for my eyes to adjust back to the darkness and my body to adjust to the change in temperature.

Looking around, I tried to figure out where the hell I was but it was far too dark.

"Tess?" I called out.

No answer.

"Tess?" I tried again.

Still nothing.

I pulled on the handcuffs again but all I did was aggravate my shoulder.

A click echoed across the room as a door unlocked, sending in a softer light and creating a silhouette around someone walking into the room.

The clicking of high heels against the concrete was a sound I recognized.

Sabrina.

A single light went on above me and I looked up at her.

"Detective Chandler. I thought for sure I'd put you out of your misery that night. Guess I was wrong."

"Same here."

"How's that shoulder?"

"Let's cut the small talk, Sabrina. Where's Tess?"

She waved a finger at me. "Ugh uh. I ask the questions." She began to walk around me like a vulture stalking its prey, eying me up and down, probably trying to intimidate me, and finally coming to a stop behind me.

"What do you want?"

"Information." I felt her hand perch itself on my right shoulder and I knew what was coming.

"I don't have anything to tell you." I knew what she wanted and this whole situation pretty much confirmed that she had connected the dots on me.

Her hand slid down the front of my shoulder and her thumb slowly dug into my healing bullet wound. I steeled myself against it, holding my breath against the pain but she squeezed even harder.

"If you think you're getting off on the attempted murder charge you've got another thing….aghhh!" She broke through the thin healing skin, her thumb sinking into the now bloody hole with a sickening pop.

She withdrew her thumb and stood in front of me, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look at her. Her face was void of emotion and her eyes were ice cold. "Aw, what's the matter? Does that hurt?"

I tried to move my head to break her grip but she held on tightly. "Fuck you," I panted.

She let go of my chin and turned around but before I could say anything she whipped around and slammed her fist into the side of my face, sending my chair toppling over onto my right side.

"Where is he?"

"Where is who?" I'll be damned if I was going to give him up.

"You know exactly WHO I'm talking about and it would be in your best interest to give me the information I'm looking for or that bullet wound is going to be the least of your problems."

I squeezed my eyes shut against the pain. "I don't know who you're talking about."

A swift kick to my side stole my breath away and left me gasping for air. Sparkly fireworks danced in my vision as the pain threatened to steal my consciousness away from me.

She squatted down in front of me. "Tell you what. I'll give you a little time to think about this and let you bleed all over yourself for a bit." She wiped my blood off her hand on the hem of my t-shirt. "I'll be back and we'll try this again."

I coughed as I managed to get my breathing under control. Swallowing hard, I watched as Sabrina left the room and the light above me turned off. I used the moment alone to let my body relax as I lay on the cool concrete floor, but my "me time" was short lived as I heard footsteps enter the room and the light went back on.

I looked up and my heart nearly choked me as it lodged in my throat. "Tess?"

* * *

**Author's note: Moving on from this point, I know some readers will either be on board with this or not. Please remember that this is just fan fiction.**

**Thanks again to everyone that provides feedback and is still on board for this crazy ride.**


	8. Chapter 8

Tess stood over me, her arms folded across her chest.

"Tess. Wh…what the hell's going on?" My head swam with dizziness and it was starting to make me nauseous.

"I gutta admit, Chandler, it took you long enough to tell me about him."

My mind was racing with all sorts of emotions, confusion being the most prominent. "Why, Tess? Why are you working for Muirfield?"

"Oh I'm not working for Muirfield. I'm working for Sabrina." She took two steps towards me. "She's paying me good money to get information, more money I'd ever make as a cop. And this side job of mine is a secret so you're going to have to keep it to yourself."

I shook my head, my stomach turning as I digested her words.

"So many times I knew you were close to him and I wanted to end it there, but I have to admit that you've been really good at this hide and seek game. It's a shame, really. You'd make a great asset to our team."

I turned my head because I couldn't even look at her.

She knelt down and uncuffed my hands, sliding the chair away. I was a little unsure what her intentions were because she left me lying on the floor.

I rolled onto my back and clamped my hand down over my wound. I was afraid to look at it in fear I'd throw up.

"Get up," she said quietly as she stepped back.

Slowly, I got to my knees and then to my feet. "What are you doing?"

"I just want to give you a chance to defend yourself, that's only fair." She launched a fist at my face, hitting the same spot Sabrina had before. The force sent me back to the floor and I felt my skin split open - wetness began to coat the side of my face, spilling into my eye.

Tess shook out her fist. "Make this easy on the both of us. Just tell me where he is, Cat."

I laughed even though it hurt. "You betrayed me and you want me to make this easy for YOU?" Out of spite, I tucked the pain away and got back to my feet. "I don't have anything to say."

"You know that's not true, Cat. You already told me he's in hiding so you know damn well where he is."

"Like I said, I have nothing to tell you." I stood my ground and was prepared for whatever she was about to dish out.

"Well. That's unfortunate for you." She pulled her hand back and attempted to hit me again but I dodged it and kicked the back of her knees, sending her to the floor.

In seconds she was on her feet again, this time swinging her leg towards my stomach but I stepped back, nearly stumbling. Her leg caught air and I grabbed it with my left hand, causing her to crash face first onto the floor.

Sabrina came into the room, hands on her hips. "What the hell is going on here?"

Tess held her bleeding nose. "She knows where he is and I want her to fucking say it."

"Out!" Sabrina yelled. "She's my toy to play with."

Tess glared at me and I glared back. "You and I will have our go-round, Tess. Count on it."

She didn't answer me and just exited the room.

I gathered every ounce of strength to stay upright. I didn't want to give Sabrina the satisfaction of crumbling in front of her, but I felt myself starting to sway.

"You don't look so good," she said as she moved closer towards me. "Why don't you just tell me where Vincent is and…"

"And what? After I tell you you'd kill me." I touched my hand to my face and winced as it came away wet with fresh blood. "What do you want with him?"

"Muirfield cut me out of a lucrative experiment years ago, nothing like your mother's work, of course, but something that would have made me millions. Instead, they chose to go behind my back, steal my work and take my share of the money. Then they had the audacity to fire me, threatening me if I used my knowledge elsewhere." She stepped closer towards me. "I want Vincent Keller to use against them."

I shook my head and laughed slightly. "You're not using him as some pawn in your greedy game."

Her hand was driven into my side and then her other hand coiled itself around my neck, pinning me against the wall. "Where the fuck is he?" Her eyes were crazed and spittle flew from her mouth.

I spit in her face and that cost me.

Her fist slammed into my face and everything went black.


	9. Chapter 9

When I awoke, I found myself sitting up against a wall, my left hand cuffed and chained to a metal pipe on the wall.

"Shit," I grumbled under my breath. I looked down at my shirt and found it soaked with blood so I quickly looked away. There was nothing I could do about it at the moment so my medical assessment would have to wait.

My head was pounding, my side was throbbing and my shoulder was on fire. I needed to get the hell out of here.

I moved over so that my feet could touch the pipe and I started kicking it in an effort to loosen it from the wall. It was rusted at the joint so I kicked with what little strength I had and managed to break it.

Sliding the handcuff out, I was going to make an attempt at standing but I heard the door lock click and I knew someone was coming in.

Sabrina.

I moved my hand back against the pipe to make it appear as if I was still attached to it.

She strode into the room, stopping in front of me. "If you're trying to escape, forget it and save your energy."

"Fuck off, Sabrina." I wanted to egg her on and get her closer.

It worked.

She squatted down in front of me and before she could say another word, I swung the dislodged pipe at the side of her head and sending her down to the floor with a heavy thud. I searched her and took the gun from the waistband of her pants.

Quickly, I went to the door, opening it slowly and poked my head out to see who might be around. My heart was pounding through my chest and I held my breath as I tried to figure out where I was. It was some type of repair shop.

Quietly and cautiously I made my way across the garage and towards the door that I hoped would lead me out of this place.

I opened it, looked around and saw two men standing outside by a black Escalade. They were a good distance away and had their backs to me so I crouched down and maneuvered my way around the perimeter of the lot, using a few old trucks to shield me. I stopped for a moment as the pain in my shoulder and ribs turned up a notch and I could feel fresh blood begin to roll down my chest.

After a few minutes of steadying my breathing, I was on the move again and made it towards the front gate of the lot. The only problem was that it was locked and the only way to get out was to climb the chain link fence.

"Dammit," I cursed under my breath as I wasted no time in climbing up and all but threw myself over it in order to just be done with it. But I was a little too hasty and the toe of my boot slipped out of one of the links, sending me crashing to the ground on my back.

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried not to cry out. I laid there for a few minutes, hoping that the men outside didn't hear me fall, but the all too familiar sound of a gun cocking from above me told me otherwise.

Opening my eyes, I saw Tess' gun aimed at me.

"And where the fuck do you think you're going?"

I couldn't even get my body to respond and get to Sabrina's gun that was now jammed underneath me. I also couldn't answer her because everything hurt so bad.

Reaching down, she grabbed me by the front of my shirt and hauled me onto my knees, the gun falling from its secret hiding place and onto the dirt by her feet.

_Shit._

We both dove for it at the same time. I had my hand nearly wrapped around it when I felt the weight of her body come crashing down onto my back, knocking the air out of my lungs.

We fought for it, wrestling in the dirt and struggling for dominance. She managed to get her finger around the trigger and immediately fired. I felt the bullet whiz past my face, coming too close for comfort.

"This ends now, Tess." I gathered up all of the strength I could and put the effort into gaining the upper hand, and I did. She had her hand around the gun but I twisted it around and shoved the barrel into her shoulder, pressing her trigger finger and sending a bullet ripping through her.

She cried out and I felt her grip ease on the gun so I seized the opportunity and got it away from her.

Standing up, I saw the two men running across the lot and heading towards us. I had no idea if there were more inside, but if there were it was only a matter of time before they were outside as well.

I was about to make a run for it when bullets flew past me. I ran around to the side of the lot where there was a small alley way with a few dumpsters. I had no other choice even though it meant boxing myself in.

Ducking behind one of the dumpsters, I started to panic as I checked the clip and found all of three bullets in it. I could hear the men shouting and their voices were getting louder as they made their way to where I was.

Staying still, I listened as one of them made his way down the alley. I could hear his feet crunching on broken glass and debris.

I moved away from my hiding spot and fired, hitting him in the chest before resuming my hiding spot.

Bullets pinged off of the side of the dumpster as another man stood at the mouth of the alley and fired on me.

Then I waited.

I waited for him to walk in a little further and gave him the same treatment as his friend, dropping him to the ground.

Quickly, I got up and swapped his gun for the one I had and then ducked down by a pile of old junk as I listened.

Everything was quiet.

_Where the hell was Tess?_

After about five minutes, I stood up and started walking back towards the front of the lot, but before I could get very far Sabrina came around the corner and fired at me, hitting me in the thigh and sending me down to the ground crying out and clamping my hand over the wound.

"Son-of-a-bitch," I groaned through clenched teeth.

"You just made a huge mistake, Catherine." She slowly walked towards me, her gun still trained on me.

"If you want Vincent you can't kill me," I growled at her.

Squatting down in front of me, she jammed the barrel of her gun under my chin and tilted my head back. "Pull another stunt like that again and I WILL kill you."

So much for my escape.

I was running out of time.

* * *

**Author's note: Thanks again to everyone that is following this story and leaving feedback. I'm glad that you're enjoying what I'm writing!**


	10. Chapter 10

I could feel the bullet banging against my femur each time I moved my leg, even just the slightest bit. Sweat covered just about every part of my body and I could feel the blood loss starting to get to me.

My belt was a makeshift tourniquet, but it wasn't enough to completely stop the bleeding. I held my hand against it for what felt like an eternity and it had slowed a bit but I was in definite need of a doctor.

A rough hand slapped at my face as I realized I'd passed out for a little bit.

"Wakey wakey, Chandler," Tess said to me as she held onto my chin.

"Tesssss?" I mumbled as I couldn't get the world around me into focus. My eyelids felt so heavy and it was taking all my effort to keep them open.

"You happy now that you shot me? Huh? Are we even now?" Her voice didn't have any anger in it.

My brow creased as I shook my head slightly. "No. We're not." I felt like I was drunk because forming words was proving to be difficult. "Did…did you gi…give me sssssomethin'?"

"No. It's the blood loss."

For a minute there I thought I heard the old Tess speaking to me. The one that I thought had cared about me and my well-being.

Sabrina entered the room and the two of the whispered a few things before Tess left the room, leaving us alone.

She tossed my phone onto the floor next to me. "Call him."

My eyes rolled around in my head as I tried to pay attention. "Can't."

"Look, you've got five minutes to make that call. You don't make it then not only am I going to let you bleed out all over this filthy floor but I'm going to drop your dead body off on your father's doorstep. You hear me?"

My heart began to crumble.

Without saying another word, she left the room and slammed the door behind her.

I picked up the phone, my blood smearing all over the keypad, and I dialed his number.

"Oh my God, where are you I haven't heard from…?" his voice boomed through the phone.

"I….I need help. Fast."

He was silent for a moment and I could almost hear panic consume him. "Where are you?"

"Don't know. Trace. J.T." I rambled.

"Catherine, what happened to you?"

"Sh…shot. Help me." I wasn't sure the words even came out because I could barely hear myself.

"Okay. Okay, just stay with me. We're going to find you. Just stay on the line so J.T. can trace it."

I didn't hear another word he said.

* * *

**Author's note: With Catherine's current state of injury my chapters have shortened. That's the downfall of writing an injured person in this style, but I will post a few at a time to make up for it. Hope you're still enjoying the read!**


	11. Chapter 11

Loud growling, glass smashing, wood splintering, shouting and the sounds of gunshots forced my eyes open, but it was dark in the room and I couldn't see a thing.

The door flew open and I struggled to see who had entered. "Vincent?" I murmured. The darkness kept me from seeing what was going on and the pain ravaging my body kept me from staying alert long enough to understand it.

I felt myself being scooped up and then a cold breeze hit my face, chilling me to the bone and causing me to shake. My eyes slid closed once again.

"I've got you, Catherine. Just hang on," a gravelly voice said to me.

He loaded me into the back of an SUV and stayed by my side the entire time.

"How's she doing?" I heard JT from behind the wheel.

"Even with my night vision it's hard for me to see the extent of her injuries, but her pulse is weak. We need to hurry."

I felt the car accelerate and I swallowed hard against the nausea that was lodged in my throat. "Vinc…cent."

"Shhhh. Don't try to talk. We'll be there soon," he said as I felt him run his hand across my sweaty forehead.

I couldn't open my eyes. I just didn't have the energy anymore.

I drifted in and out of consciousness throughout our ride to I-don't-know-where, and when the car came to a screeching halt I figured we had reached our destination.

The back hatch opened, Vincent quickly scooped me up and ran.

"Whe…where are we?"

He didn't answer, he just ran and the next thing I knew I was lying on a cold surgical table with a bright light shining above me. It reminded me of the light from the room Sabrina had me in and I tried to block out the panicked feeling that started to creep up on me.

I felt a foreign set of fingertips touch the pulse point on my neck before pulling away. "Her pulse is very weak. We need to work fast," a man's voice said.

I managed to open my eyes and saw Vincent staring down at me.

"Catherine, you're going to be okay. My friend is a surgeon and he's going to help you. You're safe now."

That's all I needed as my body relaxed and I lost contact with the world around me.


	12. Chapter 12

An annoying beeping sound woke me from my slumber. Rolling my head to the side I could see that the culprit was a heart monitor.

"Hey," a voice quietly said to me.

I turned my head to the other side and saw Vincent. "Hi," I said quietly.

He took my hand into his. "You're going to be fine. The bullet in your leg didn't do any damage so you're really lucky. You've got a couple fractured ribs and your old gunshot wound had to be re-stitched. The worst of it was that you lost a lot of blood so he gave you a couple of transfusions."

I looked around the room. "Where are we?" It looked more like a bedroom than a hospital room.

He smiled at me. "Some place safe."

A tear rolled down my cheek.

The small smile on his face began to fade. "Catherine, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry."

"For?"

"They wanted…me to call you." I paused for a moment as I didn't realize my injuries would still impact my ability to speak. "I…I had to..."

I felt him squeeze my hand. "Leave it for now. You're not strong enough to talk about this right now. Rest. Rest and get stronger."

"Sabrina?"

He hung his head for a second. "She's dead."

"Tess?"

He looked at me, confused. "She wasn't there. Did they take her when they took you?"

My heart monitor began to beep faster, giving my fears away.

"Catherine?"

"She was in on it." I felt myself start to panic. "If…if she got away….she'll go…go after Heather next." I struggled to get up but the pain kept me down.

Vincent stood up, cupping my face. "Catherine, you need to relax. I will find Heather but you need to relax."

"Vin…Vincent she'll…she'll kill her." I winced, squeezing my eyes shut against the pain.

I felt him leave my side and then return just as I opened my eyes. He slid a needle into a vial, withdrawing whatever he needed.

"No. No. Don't…don't knock me out. Need to…to find Heather." I tried to push his hand away from me but my weakened state made my attempt utterly useless.

"This is the only way right now, I'm sorry. I can't risk you having a heart attack."

He slid the tip of the needle into the port near the crook of my elbow and I felt a sense of warmth fill my body as the painkiller took hold. I began to relax and my eyelids refused to stay open.

"Vin…" Within seconds my eyes rolled and I drifted to sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

Everything was quiet and dark when I woke up, aside from a small lamp on the night stand by my bed that cast a little bit of light over me.

I was propped up on a stack of pillows, making it a little easier to sit up. Looking down at my arm I saw that I was still tethered to an I.V. but with a quick yank and a wince I freed myself.

Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I stopped for a moment as pain re-introduced itself. "Not now," I mumbled under my breath, hoping that it would obey me somehow.

My right arm was bound tightly to my chest in a sling and I noticed a thick wad of gauze taped to my thigh. As soon as I put pressure down on my right leg I nearly fell over, but I gritted my teeth and limped my way around the small room in search of my clothes.

"You shouldn't be out of bed," a man's voice said behind me.

I turned around and saw an older man standing in the doorway. "Who…"

He put his hands up in front of him as he slowly entered the room. "Take it easy. I'm a friend of Vincent's. I'm the doctor that helped you."

I was running low on trust after everything that had happened and I couldn't help but move away from him. "Where are my clothes?"

"Ruined, but I have some clothes you can borrow. First, let's get you back into bed."

"Where's Vincent?"

"Please. You're not well enough to be on your feet."

"Where. Is. He?!" I growled.

"He's trying to find your sister."

I swayed slightly and clenched my jaw. "Get me some clothes. I'm not running around town in this johnny." I sat down on the side of the bed as I started to get dizzy.

"Alright. I'll get you some clothes but you're not going anywhere. You lost a lot of blood and even though I gave you some transfusions, you need to give yourself time to…"

"I don't have time! My partner turned on me, I almost died and now my sister is gonna get caught up in all this bullshit." I stopped talking as my ribs protested.

"Let him help. He and J.T. are working to find her." I felt his hand on my shoulder with only the slightest touch. "I know you want to help him but you're not going to be any good to him if you hurt yourself any further."

I looked up at him as I tried my best to hide my pain.

"Rest. Let me give you something for the pain."

I shook my head, "No. I don't want to sleep any more than I already have."

"I won't give you a sedative, just something to take that edge off. I can see the pain in your eyes."

"How do you know Vincent?" I asked, my trust issues creeping back.

"I was a medic when he was serving." He paused for a moment. "I knew your mother."

My heart skipped a beat.

"She was a good woman and they used her, but I'm sure you already know that."

I nodded and eased myself back into bed.

"She always talked about you. I'm sure she'd be proud of you."

"Doubt it." I leaned back into the pillows and tried to get my body to relax. "My sister is in danger because of me. I highly doubt my mother would approve."

He changed out the needle on the I.V. and slid it back into my arm. "I want to give you fluids for at least one more day." He taped it back into place and then covered me with the blanket. "I'll get you something for the pain and will get you a change of clothes."

"Thank you."

He patted my arm. "He'll find her. Don't worry."

"I hope so."


	14. Chapter 14

"Catherine?" a gruff voice called to me. "Catherine, wake up." Then I felt his hands on me, shaking me gently.

I slowly opened my eyes as they focused on his face. "Vincent."

"We need to move to another location," he said to me as he cupped my face.

"Vincent, you shouldn't move her just yet," his doctor friend said as he appeared in the doorway. "Stay another couple of days."

"No. No. I can't risk it. This is a safe place and if we ever need you again it won't be here if we expose it."

"What's going on? Where's Heather?" I sat up and tried to shake the cobwebs from my mind.

"She's…"

"Cat? Cat!" I heard Heather's voice yelling from down the hallway and she soon burst into the room. "Oh my God!" Her hand flew over her mouth as she enveloped me in a hug.

"Easy! Don't squeeze so hard."

"What the hell happened to you and what the hell is going on? He wouldn't tell me anything on the way over here." Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"It's a long story. Tess betrayed me and…"

"What? She…she put me in that safe house. Everything was fine until HE showed up."

I looked at Vincent. "What happened?"

"Nothing. J.T. cloned her IP address and found out where they were holding her. Tess wasn't there when J.T. and I got there. I had to take out the two guys guarding Heather but when we were leaving, Tess was driving up. She chased us for a while and we lost her but I don't want to take any chances in leading her here. David's done enough and I don't want to drag him into this."

I felt Heather squeeze my hand. "Cat. Why is this happening? I'm scared."

"It's okay. Help me get dressed so we can go."

"Where are you going to go?" David asked. "You can't keep moving from place to place forever."

"I have a couple more places we can stay. It'll buy us enough time to make a plan." Vincent turned and looked at me. "Five minutes, okay?"

I nodded and they both left the room, shutting the door behind them.

"Who did this to you?" Heather asked as she helped me get dressed.

"After they moved you, Tess was staying at my apartment. Sabrina sent two of her men to abduct me but Tess killed them. My guess is she did it in order to continue having me believe she was on my side."

"But she's a cop. Can't you arrest her or something?"

"I wish it were that simple."

She helped me take off the sling so that I could put on a t-shirt and a pullover hoodie. Her hands were shaking while she helped put the sling back on and it tore me apart.

"When they moved me to a safe house, one minute I was asleep in bed and the next minute I woke up on the floor of some dirty garage. They want Vincent. That part is a long story, but they wanted me to lure him there. I couldn't do that to him."

"Are you crazy? So instead you'd let them almost kill you?"

Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, she helped me put on a pair of sweatpants and then slipped sneakers on my feet.

"He's saved my life more than once. I owe him. It's…it's complicated."

I stood up and grunted in pain as the bullet wound in my leg began to throb now that I was upright.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just go slow, okay?"

She linked her arm in mine and we slowly went out into the hallway where Vincent and David were waiting.

"Let me carry you out to the car, it'll be faster."

"No. You're not carrying me."

David put his hand on my shoulder. "Be safe, Catherine. I don't want to ever see you back here again. Got it?"

He smiled at me and I smiled back because I knew what he meant. "Thank you."

After a little while, I made it out to the car where J.T. was waiting for us. By the time I climbed into the back seat I was covered in sweat.

"You okay?" Vincent asked. "David gave me some painkillers and supplies so…"

I put up my hand. "I'm fine. Stop worrying."

J.T. pulled away from the curb and we drove off into the night.

"You two get some rest. We've got a few hours of driving to do before we get to the safe house."

Heather held onto me tightly and soon fell asleep against my good shoulder. I was glad to have her near so that I could keep an eye on her but I worried that I still might not be able to protect her.


	15. Chapter 15

We drove for about an hour – miles and miles of nothing but desolate back roads and darkness.

Heather was still asleep next to me, J.T. was concentrating on the dimly lit road and Vincent was looking over a map that had seen its fair share of use.

I looked to my left as we passed a side road and didn't have time to yell out and warn J.T. of the Escalade barreling towards us with its lights off.

The all too familiar sound of metal on metal filled my ears as glass shattered around me.

I tried to cling to Heather as tightly as I could but lost my grip on her arm when we rolled for about the third or fourth time – I lost count.

We skidded across the road upside down and finally came to a stop. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of déjà vu.

"Catherine?" Vincent called out to me as he tried to free himself from his seatbelt.

"I'm…" Before I could say another word I heard gunshots and the sound of bullets hitting what was left of the car.

"Heather?" I asked as panic began to swallow me up. My one working arm was making it hard to free myself from the death trap we were now stuck in.

"Get out of the car, Cat or else I'm gonna keep firing and blow the whole damn thing up," Tess said from outside of the car.

Another bullet whizzed through the car, grazing Heather's arm and causing her to cry out.

"Alright! Alright. Stop shooting!"

"Catherine, don't," Vincent pleaded as he finally freed himself and crashed down onto the roof liner.

"I have to. She won't stop until we're all dead. STAY in the car."

He handed me a gun. "Here."

I took it and tucked it into my sling.

"Get out here now!" Tess yelled as she fired another bullet, this one thankfully missing everyone in the car.

"Cat, don't go out there. She'll kill you," Heather cried.

"Shh. It's okay. I'll be okay." With a few clicks of the seatbelt release button, I landed hard on my face – feeling the broken glass biting into my skin. I didn't have time to dwell on the pain and shimmied myself out the window and onto the pavement where I found Tess standing a ways away from the car, her gun aimed at me.

"You know, I really am sorry that I'm gonna have to kill you. I DO like you, Cat. You just got in my way."

I took a second to gather the strength to turn over and get to my feet.

"You wanted one last go-round, here it is," she said as she put her arms out to her sides.

Part of me wanted to shoot her right then and there but I was afraid I'd miss. I wasn't in the greatest of health and shooting lefty wasn't something I was very good at.

"When did you get so far deep into this, Tess?"

"I've been doing some 'side jobs' for a while now and then when Sabrina came along, she gave me an offer I couldn't refuse when I saw the dollar signs next to it. You see, she finally figured out who you were just around the time we called her in for questioning." She started to walk slowly towards me. "I knew about your mother's death but I didn't realize what got her killed until Sabrina told me. And how convenient that I was your partner?"

"I trusted you, Tess. I trusted you with my LIFE!"

Tess shrugged and took a vile out of her pocket. "Oh yeah, the deal came with this, a little something to kick things up a notch. It's what Sabrina was working on before Muirfield decided they'd rather play with their little freaks like your boyfriend over there."

I took a few steps back as she got closer. "If she's been injecting you with that stuff then you're definitely not thinking clearly."

She started to laugh. "Not thinking clearly? That's a good one. YOU'RE the one who's not thinking clearly hanging out with that maniac." She raised her gun and shot into the car, shooting round after round.

"No!" I screamed as I tackled her to the ground, knocking the gun from her hand. Reaching into my sling I took out my gun and shoved it into her neck. I was practically panting from the adrenaline rushing through me. "Vincent? Heather? J.T.?" I yelled to the car but I didn't hear anything.

"Aww. Guess they're dead." She brought her hand up and grabbed the gun, pushing me away from her.

I landed on my back and soon found myself staring down the barrel of her gun once again.

"Sorry, Cat. This ends now."

I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the fire of the bullet to penetrate my skin but I didn't feel it or hear the gun go off. All I did hear was Tess' strangled cry.

Opening my eyes I saw Vincent holding her high into the air with his hand wrapped around her neck. He gave a beastly roar and then slammed her down onto the pavement where her body lay motionless. Her eyes were wide open and staring at me even though there was no life left in her body.

He gathered himself and ran to me. "Catherine!" His hands roamed my body in search of new injuries.

"I'm…I'm okay." I could break away from Tess' stare.

Taking me into his arms, I melted into his embrace.

"Heather? J.T.?" I asked, coming back to reality and moving away from him.

"They're okay. J.T. got knocked out for a little while but he's okay. I dragged Heather into the front seat. She just has a few scratches." He ran his hand through my hair. "We're lucky, considering what could have happened."

"I'm so sorry that I got you into this. I…I didn't do it to lure you there, I did it because you're the only one I trust and the only one that could help me."

He leaned forward and captured my lips into his for a brief moment. "You would have died if you didn't call me. You had to involve me. I don't blame you, Catherine." He rested his forehead on mine. "It's over."

I smiled only slightly. "For now. This wasn't Muirfield. They're still out there."

"Let's take one day at a time."

I made an attempt to stand but he put his hand on my shoulder. "Stay put. I'm going to call someone to come get us and take us back to the city. Someone who can clean this all up and make it go away."

I nodded and stayed seated on the cold pavement as he walked away to make the call.

If we had a hard time dealing with Sabrina, God only knows how we'll be able to handle Muirfield when that day comes.

**_~THE END~_**

* * *

**_Author's note: Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to read this story. Will I be writing a sequel? I don't know. I don't have anything planned but if my muse happens to swing by then maybe something will be written._**

**_In the meantime, please continue support this fantastic show and the current efforts that are taking place to get them a second season. You can find the info all over Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook._**


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